USD: hawkish expectations increase

By Kira Iukhtenko, FBS

US dollar gained ground versus all the major currencies on the past week as the Republicans' takeover of the US Senate increased political pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates. The overall upbeat tone of the recent US releases firms the hawkish sentiment up. US October NFP came out slightly at 214K – this is slightly below the forecast, but above the crucial 200K waterline. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate lowered to 5.8% in October.

On the next week there are not so many potential market moving events on the schedule. US banks will be closed on Tuesday. On Friday pay attention to the October retail sales and consumer sentiment data. The current market setup paves ground for more USD gains. Be careful, though: the overbought market could strongly react to any negative surprises.